The Dallas Mavericks have so much freedom to do whatever they want this offseason, surely it won’t all be wasted with cheap, media-based rumors while the Mavs do almost nothing right?
There are so many rumors in the NBA right now that some of them are hard to keep up with. When we are able to narrow it down a little bit and just look mainly at one team, though, we get a chance to break the rumors down just a little bit more. That is fortunate because some things just don’t need to be remembered.
Here are just a few things that will come up with Dallas Mavericks rumors. They are fun to listen to, but try not to take them too seriously just yet.
1. Forget the Knicks trade rumors
Everyone has heard them already. Carmelo Anthony is already halfway out the door in New York and it is vividly clear that he will be suiting up in a non-blue/orange jersey in the future. The Dallas Mavericks would be foolish not to call with their trade options and the expectant cap space in the future right?
Not so fast. The Mavericks need to think before they throw all the money at Carmelo Anthony just because of his superstar capabilities. Although Melo has always been considered one of the best players in the league, it has come with some concerns. Not only is Melo an average player in pretty much every aspect other than his offense, he is also a terrible defender.
The Mavs do not need a player like Carmelo Anthony. Although his scoring would be a much needed relief for the offensively lacking Mavericks, the type of player Melo is would not fit well with the team and especially with the coach. Aside from that, the major concern would be with the price it would cost to get a player like Melo. If he was in free agency it may be worth the risk, but other than that, skip on Melo.
The other NYK player that has been linked to some Mavs rumors is none other than Kristaps Porzingis. Now I won’t go quite as deeply into this one mainly because Porzingis would be a great fit for Dallas and someone we would love to have on the team. But New York isn’t letting him go anywhere.
So it’s time to forget that dream.
2. Don’t be too expectant of any Mavs (Wesley Matthews, Dwight Powell) to be moved right away
A lot of people really want to see the Mavericks move some players this offseason in return for a draft pick or two. Personally, I don’t see that as much of a possibility seeing as this is one of the most stacked draft classes in recent memory. The people who will be trading picks in this draft won’t be doing it for players like the down on his luck Wes Matthews nor the unproven Dwight Powell.
The only way the Mavericks fans should expect to see either of these players moved before the draft would be if they are combined with our pick to move down in the draft. Outside of that possibility, the Mavericks probably will not be terribly interested in player swaps early in free agency and they will be more focused on the draft than moving a few spaces forward.
The desire for Dallas to find a point guard in the draft may have them moving things differently than they normally would but I am not expecting anything too crazy in that sense.
3. Dallas draft day should never be predicted
This is the biggest mistake we ever make as MFFLs when it comes to the offseason. Although for years it was easy to say that Dallas is going to trade their pick for a veteran, there were never obvious signs as to who the Mavs would target for that. Nowadays, it is already expected that Dallas is going to hold onto this pick. But are Mavs fans getting a little ahead of themselves with that prediction?
Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson have been with the team through some of the best times and some of the hardest times and draft day has been both of those things for them. That being said, they stick to their guns and do what they believe is best and none of us have the slightest clue what that might mean to them until it’s done.
Clearly there are a number of things that the Mavs could do on the big day. But, what is it going to be?
Next: NBA Award Predictions: Defensive Player of the Year
I love the offseason and I can’t wait to see what the Mavericks do end up doing with their money, picks, and players. However, it is important that this excitement does not outweigh the unpredictability of this team and this front office.